Topic: Ideal way to upgrade from 7.x to 8

[jameswilson]

unsure where to put this so please move if this is wrong.

I have updated some of my sme machines to 8, no issues at all. As usual very smooth.

But i have 2 left that are important. They both have the php5 cgi contrib, which is my main reason for upgrading.
I will backup with the server manager backup just in case i have to start from scratch. I also have 2 x locations of affa backups.

What is the best way. Will php5 cgi cause a conflict. SHould i remove the contribs first etc etc?

Thanks

[mmccarn]

I'm just guessing, but...

Since you won't/can't have the php5-cgi contrib installed on the SME8 systems, the related db entries will be ignored after you upgrade.  Unless you have custom httpd template fragments invoking php5 in cgi mode, there should be nothing to worry about.

Here's the wiki entry describing the entries that you won't need any more in httpd.conf after you upgrade to SME8:
http://wiki.contribs.org/PHP5#For_contribs

[jameswilson]

So your saying its better to. backup, build a new machine and restore, rather than upgrade the current one?

[janet]

jameswilson

What is the best way. Will php5 cgi cause a conflict. SHould i remove the contribs first etc etc?

If you intend to continue using the current hardware, just do a upgrade. It's the easiest and least hassle way.
I recommend you uninstall any incompatible contribs before upgrading, which includes php5-cgi. That has always been the case between version upgrades of sme server for the last 12 years or more.

Always do a backup before any major upgrade, and verify your backup to ensure it is good. It is also wise to test your complete backup and restore procedures so in the event of a worst case scenario developing, then you know "for sure" that your backup is good and that it will restore correctly. Many people have had their fingers burnt (and lost data) by backups that would not restore correctly. Use a test server to do a test restore, or just temporarily reconfigure your main server with another drive, if you can tolerate some down time.

I think I read somewhere that php5-cgi contrib will be automatically uninstalled during an upgrade to sme8, but not 100% sure about that.
You could read the migrate/upgrade code if you know how, to see what happens during an upgrade, or search these forums or bugzilla or the dev mailing lists

You should really fix that php5-cgi security issue immediately, your server may already be hacked !
See http://forums.contribs.org/index.php/topic,48612.0.html

[jameswilson]

As from other posts the yum upgrade didnt go well.

If using sme under xen do not upgrade using yum.

Ill start a new post regarding running sme as a xen guest

[janet]

jameswilson

As from other posts the yum upgrade didnt go well.
If using sme under xen do not upgrade using yum.

I would strongly suggest you test any upgrade first, particularly when a new operating system has been released, and particularly when you have a non standard setup (meaning anything other than a standalone dedicated server hardware setup).
You should always backup before ANY upgrade, and you should be using a backup & restore solution that you have fully tested and proven works correctly & completely, for both the backup and the restore process.

It's easy to do a test upgrade & resolve issues on a test server, then upgrade your live server.
It's usually much harder to fix problems on a live server & where downtime is usually a factor requiring urgency of resolution.

Having said the above please specify what yum upgrade commands you used and what repos are enabled, or were enabled during the upgrade. Theoretically these things should "just work" (as Charlie says), and if they don't then they should go to the bugtracker. Whether or not it's a bug can be determined in the bugtracker, and if it's not a bug then bring the discussion back to the forums for further analysis.

[jameswilson]

Sorted this.
If restoring to new hardware then use AFFA and use the moving to new hardware method DO NOT restore the machine from an existing backup.
Also if running inside xen as a guest do not upgrade via yum.

This is what i did.
Created a new VM on the xen host.
Installed new (from cd) sme 8 server and use different IP address's from your box you are moving from
Install AFFA to the new box.
Setup AFFA to backup the production box.
Use the AFFA rise method to rise the new box to be an exact copy of your production box.
Once the rise has completed power down the production box.
Reboot the new box and all should be ok.

As a side note the production box was a sme 7.6 box. So using this method affa (seems so far) to work on sme 8 fine.